Post Office Records

Post office records may deliver interesting information to the genealogical researcher seeking
more information about an ancestor or an ancestor's community. Microfilmed records include
postmaster appointment records and records showing the location of post offices.

Records of Postmaster Appointments

Postmaster appointments before 1832 are found in National Archives microfilm publication M1131, Record of
Appointment of Postmasters, Oct. 1789-1832 (4 rolls). Arranged
alphabetically by name of post office, these records include the name of each post office and the
state in which it was located, dates of establishment and discontinuance of post offices, the
names of postmasters, and dates of postmasters' appointments. For example, the post office of
Frostville, Cuyahoga County, OH, was established January 31, 1829, with Dr. Elias C. Frost
appointed first postmaster. Although these records do not indicate when the postmaster resigned
or was terminated, his or her length of service can be approximated by noting the date of
appointment of the postmaster's successor.

Postmasters served as little as a few months to more than 30 years. One such long-serving
postmaster was Elihu O. Lyman of Mulberry Corners, Geauga County, OH, who served a total of
31 years, from February 1852 to March 1865 and January 1867 to August 1885. Some persons
were appointed several times, such as Dr. William M. Hayford who was four times appointed as
postmaster of Hartland, Livingston County, MI. Dr. Hayford was first appointed on January 15,
1853, followed by Abraham F. Chambers, who was appointed January 30, 1856, who Dr.
Hayford succeeded on January 23, 1857. Dr. Hayford's third appointment was on January 28,
1859, followed by Chauncy P. Worden on March 19, 1861. Dr. Hayford's final appointment was
on June 5, 1885, followed by G. Winfield Wallace, who was appointed April 24, 1889.

Sometimes, control of the post office was a family affair. The Denmark, Ashtabula County, OH,
post office provides examples of this phenomena. Its postmasters included Elihu "Knap" and
Horace Knapp; Ebenezer Williams, William H. Williams, and Henry E. Williams; Giles Ives, his
son-in-law William H. Seager, and Daniel K. Palmer, who was father-in-law of Lewis Ives, a son
of Giles Ives. (Family relationships are not stated in these records).

Early site reports are relatively infrequent and often contain little information. An undated report
for Frostville, Cuyahoga County, OH, for example, simply states that neighboring post offices
are Rockport, which is 7 miles northeast, and Copopa, which is 6 miles south. It also states that
the Frostville post office is on the west side of the Rockey [sic] River, 7 1/2 miles from its mouth
at Lake Erie.

Site reports become more common and more informative after 1870. Information generally
includes the post office's proximity to nearby rivers, creeks, postal routes, railroad stations, and
to other post offices. Many postmasters requested permission to move the post office to a more
convenient location. They frequently submitted maps with the site reports. Most maps relating
to rural post offices are hand-drawn, while many relating to cities are annotated copies of
published street maps, especially after 1900.

These maps vary in content. For example, postmaster J.K. McNutt of Eagleville, Ashtabula
County, OH, submitted a hand-drawn map in 1889 showing nine townships covering a 225
square mile area. He included the position of his post office in relation to two railroad lines;
several roads, rivers, and creeks; and one dozen other post offices. The postal site reports for
Dorset, Ashtabula County, OH, include an undated map, probably circa 1905, of the commercial
area of Dorset Township. The map shows the locations of the current and proposed post office
sites, two churches, a cheese factory, two hotels, two stores, and the railroad depot. The Dorset
postmaster wanted to move the post office from the south end of the commercial district to its
center.

T268. Journal of
Hugh Finlay, Surveyor of Post Roads and Post Offices, 1773-1774;
Accounts of the General
Post Office in Philadelphia and of the Various Deputy Postmasters;
"The Ledger of Benjamin
Franklin"--Jan. 1775-Jan. 1780 (1 roll).
Available for purchase, or
search the Microfilm Catalog for the nearest Regional Archives that has a copy of this
microfilm publication.

Post Office Names

Before 1891, the Post Office Department had no written policies about post office names. Post
office names were derived from several sources, including names of towns, townships,
neighborhoods, crossroads, or from the postmaster's name or place of business. The post office
of Chesterland in Geauga County, OH, was in Chester Township. A second post office in the
same township was named Mulberry Corners after its location in an area where a farmer had
once grown mulberry trees. Dr. Frost named his post office "Frostville" after himself; it was
located in the village of Olmsted Falls. Subsequent postmasters changed its name to Norris Falls
in 1843, Olmsted in 1845, and Olmsted Falls in 1889. In 1819 the post office of Carson's
Tavern, OH, was obviously the location of a tavern operated by postmaster William J. Carson,
while in 1821-1823 the post office of Gassaway's Mill, OH, was undoubtedly the location of a
mill operated by postmaster Nicholas Gassaway.

Many books about post offices and postmarks have been
published. A selection of these are listed below; you may be able to borrow them through
interlibrary loan. Contact your local public library for assistance. These books are
not in NARA. For titles of other books on postal history, consult the
Library of Congress online catalog.

Richow, Harold E. The Territorial Post Offices of Wisconsin: Their Covers and
Postmarks, July 4, 1836-May 29, 1848: Including Those Which Were in the Michigan Territory,
October 6, 1921-July 3, 1836. Oshkosh, WI: Wisconsin Postal History Society, 1963.